Sight-seeing in the Land down Under!

Today, I was determined to do some sight seeing, so LaTanya and I took the train into Perth where we boarded a tour bus with a group of other tourists.



We were lucky enough to land the front seats and could see the entire landscape before us. It was another glorious, sunny day, perfect for a tour of the Swan Valley! Our first stop was a winery, Sandalford Wines.




The winery also hosts musical events throughout the year and on its walls hang memorabilia from several artists, including Lionel Richie. I don’t actually enjoy wine (or any other alcholic beverages) but I decided that when in Rome… and I tasted a few different bottlings.







I only poured a tiny sip into my glass and found that one white wine was tolerable. It was very fruity, smelling almost as sweet at grape juice. I find that sniffing wine and observing its color holds far more interest for me than the actual tasting. Even the wines that I can’t imagine drinking (Shiraz for example) were very interesting to smell.

The next stop was Margaret River Chocolate Factory. I’m more of a savory fan, so I don’t have a sweet tooth, but I do enjoy an occasional taste of fine chocolate. Usually, I prefer dark chocolate (I can’t eat candy bars, with their super sweet milk chocolate…yucky!) but the milk chocolate at this factory was excellent.








We left the chocolate factory and headed for Caversham Wildlife Park!


I had been waiting all day for this part of the tour! I’m an animal fan, and am fascinated by the beautiful diversity of life on Earth. Our tour guide, Tracey, was great!



She was informative, funny and attentive. We met all manner of animals, from Wallabys and Wombats, to Emus and Koalas, to Cockatoos and Tasmanian Devils.












































We toured the Kangaroo petting zoo, and fed some roos.













We even had the luck of seeing a young Joey stick its head out of its mother's pouch!










But my favorite animal was this adorable young Kangaroo. He walked right up to me, stood and waited for me to feed him! I must be missing my dogs…lol










Both LaTanya and I dozed on the bus ride back to the hotel, had dinner and went to sleep. I thought I’d take a short 30 minute nap. Ha ha ha. My short nap turned into a 4 hour sleeping session. I didn’t get out of bed and downstairs to the restaurant until nearly 10pm, just before closing time. I sat and ate with a few of the guys, then went back upstairs, worked on a track for a client and went to bed by midnight.